A beautiful 14th-century church in Etchingham received a £10,000 grant from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust in 2023 to help towards vital repair work. The project involved repairing gutters and a cracked downpipe along with repairs to damp-damaged stonework and the removal of a tree at the church’s North Tower.   The Assumption of Blessed Mary and St Nicholas, which is a Grade I listed building, has a rich history. Construction first started in the early 1360s under the auspices of Sir William de Etchingham (1333-88) and has many interesting features, including 18 stalls and misericords, medieval glass which has been preserved in the tracery of the aisle and clerestory windows, a magnificent sedilia with provision for three priest and memorial brasses to Sir William and various members of his family. There is also a memorial to Penny Black postage stamp artist Henry Corbould who fell ill near Hurst Green while travelling back to London and is buried just inside the south entrance. Following the awarding of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust’s grant, repair work to the church started in January 2024 and was completed by last August. The tree, which was growing out of the North tower, was removed using a cherry-picker. Close matches were found for the stones used to replace damaged stones on the parapets and the church has reported that the new guttering is working well.   Caroline Moore, churchwarden and acting treasurer for Etchingham, said: “It is wonderful that the struggle to raise money for those repairs is now over. It involved endless fundraising talks etc. In our village play (itself a fundraising event for the church) one of the suspects in the spoof Agatha Christie murder mystery was a Churchwarden obsessed by raising money for the Church gutters!   “Thanks to the Trust, we have dealt with a major problem. We are deeply grateful for your help; we could not have managed the repairs without you.”

The Sussex Historic Churches Trust is delighted to announce the launch of its brand new website and logo. It’s been many years since the Trust website had a refresh and the new site is aimed at raising awareness of the Trust’s role in helping Sussex churches with repairs and restoration as well as making it easy for places of worship and individuals to get involved in fund-raising. The Sussex Historic Churches Trust was founded in 1956 to give grants for essential repairs and restoration of places of worship of architectural and historic interest throughout Sussex. The Trust's main fundraising venture is the annual sponsored Ride + Stride which is taking place this year on  September 13, 2025 . Chris Whittick, chair of the SHCT said: “Our website is often the first place potential supporters will check before donating, signing up, or getting involved. We recognise the need to help visitors interact more easily with the main areas of our work and mission and it was clearly time for an upgrade. “We are delighted with the new look and ease of navigating between the various strands of the site. It is now easier than ever to register your church for the Ride + Stride event and it is also easier to find out how to go about submitting a grant bid including a new online grant application form.” Another improvement is the creation of a new Trust logo. Chris said: “We wanted a logo that reflected the core heritage work that SHCT supports and commissioned StudioMoo, the design company involved in Chichester950, this year’s 950th anniversary of the formation of the Diocese of Chichester and Chichester Cathedral. We were really impressed with how StudioMoo captured our ideas and the result is a fine and striking logo that represents our work. “We are now ready and excited about what this year will bring and we will be encouraging all the parishes in East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove to get on board this year with Ride + Stride. Once your church is registered for Ride + Stride , you can access your details and level at which it is open to participants and encourage more sponsorship. Don’t forget that 50% of the funds raised by participants will be going to a church or chapel building of their choice!” Since its foundation, the Trust has assisted more than 500 churches in East and West Sussex. In 2024 alone, £103,000 was awarded to 14 historic places of worship. Chris added: “The more money the Trust receives, the more help it can give! Thanks to the generosity of individuals and churches, the Trust was able to make a number of significant grants to churches in the Diocese this year.” Forest Row                              £10,000 St Leonards Christ Church    £5,000 South Stoke St Leonard        £6,000 Steyning St Andrew              £12,000 Winchelsea St Thomas         £3,000

Slindon @pic by John Morrison Massive thanks and congrats to long-distance Ride + Strider John Morrison who braved inclement weather and some very steep hills to cycle 27 miles last September raising £615. split equally between Tortington Church and the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. A magnificent feat! John wrote a fantastic write-up of his adventure which took in visits to Binstead and Madehurst churches - both of which have received grants from the Trust in recent years to fund repairs. Binstead was granted £5,000 to cover the entire bell tower in wooden shingles. Madehurst received £5,000 to carry out important and extensive restoration work dealing with rotten nails and broken tiles. To read John's fascinating report, download the PDF below.

Click here for other areas Arundel & Bognor Chichester Midhurst Petworth Westbourne Brighton Cuckfield Crawley & East Grinstead Horsham Hove Hurst & Burgess Hill Storrington Worthing Battle & Bexhill Dallington Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Rotherfield Rye Seaford Uckfield Click here for google map or scroll to bottom of page Beckley All Saints Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Church Lane TN31 6SE https://beckleypeasmarshch.wixsite.com/website Bodiam St Giles Open/closed status: This church is closed Bodiam Road TN32 5UJ Brede St George Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Brede Hill TN31 6EJ http://www.stgeorgesbrede.org.uk Broad Oak Trinity Methodist Church Open/closed status: This church is open Udimore Road, Broad Oak TN31 6DG Camber St Thomas Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Lydd Road TN31 7RJ East Guldeford St Mary Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned A259 TN31 7AP Ewhurst St James the Great Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Ewhurst Green TN32 5TD https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/ewhurst-green-st-james-great Fairlight St Andrew Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Coastguard Lane TN35 4AB Fairlight St Peter Open/closed status: Status unknown Waites Lane / Broadway TN35 4AB https://fairlightchurches.org.uk/ Guestling St Laurence Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Church Lane TN35 4HS http://www.WestfieldGuestlingChurches.org.uk Icklesham All Saints and St Nicholas Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned A259 Main Road TN36 4BH Iden All Saints Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Rectory Lane TN31 7XD Northiam Cemetery Chapel Open/closed status: This church is closed Ewhurst Lane N31 6NN https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2726713/northiam-cemetery Northiam St Mary Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Church Lane TN31 6NN http://www.stmarysnorthiam.fsnet.co.uk Northiam St Teresa Open/closed status: Status unknown Horns Cross TN33 0EG https://battlewithnorthiam.parishportal.net/ Northiam Baptist Chapel Open/closed status: Status unknown Dixter Road TN31 6PF Peasmarsh St Peter & St Paul Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Church Lane TN31 6XE https://beckleypeasmarshch.wixsite.com/website Pett Methodist Open/closed status: Status unknown Pett Road TN35 4HE https://www.pettchapel.org.uk/ Pett St Mary and St Peter Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Pett Road TN35 4HG Pett Level St Nicholas Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Pett Level Road TN35 4 Playden St Michael Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned A268 / The Oakfield TN31 7UA Rye Baptist Chapel Open/closed status: Status unknown Cinque Ports Street TN31 7AN https://ryebaptistchurch.co.uk/ Rye Methodist Church Open/closed status: Closed Church Square TN31 7LB https://ryemc.chessck.co.uk/ Rye St Anthony of Padua Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Watchbell St TN31 7HB https://stanthonyrye.com/ Rye St Mary Open/closed status: This church is open Church Square TN31 7HH http://www.ryeparishchurch.org.uk Rye Harbour Holy Spirit Open/closed status: This church is closed Harbour Road TN31 7HF https://www.ryeparishchurch.org.uk/ryeharbourchurch.htm Staplecross St Mark Open/closed status: This church is closed B2165 TN32 5PZ Udimore St Mary Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned Church Lane TN31 6BD https://www.stmarysudimore.org/ Westfield St John the Baptist Open/closed status: This church is closed Vicarage Lane TN35 4SD http://www.stjohns-westfield.org.uk Winchelsea Wesley Chapel Open/closed status: This church is open A259 Rectory Lane TN36 4EY http://www.winchelseachapel.org Winchelsea St Thomas Open/closed status: This church is open but not manned High Street TN36 4EB https://www.winchelsea.com/the-town-story/town-trail/st-thomas-church/ Rye map1

Ride + Stride: church details << Back Wesley Chapel This church is open A259 Rectory Lane Rye TN36 4EY http://www.winchelseachapel.org < Previous Next >

Search function for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust website No church found Next Fitzalan Chapel (via St Nicholas) Next Arundel BN18 9AT St Thomas a Becket Church Approach Next Framfield TN22 5NS St Mark A272 Next Hadlow Down TN22 4HH Holy Trinity Chillies Lane Next High Hurstwood TN22 4AD St Margaret of Antioch Church Lane Next Isfield TN22 5XR St Michael and All Angels off A26 Next Little Horsted (Horsted Parva) TN22 5TS St Bartholomew Batts Bridge Road / High Street Next Maresfield TN22 2HQ St Mary Church Road Next Newick BN8 4JZ St James the Less High Street Next Nutley TN22 3NA Holy Cross Belmont Road Next Uckfield TN22 1BP Our Lady Immaculate and St Peter Neri 10 Westmoreland Ct Next Uckfield (Newtown) TN22 5DJ URC Church High Street Next Uckfield (Newtown) TN22 5AE St Mark B2165 Next Staplecross TN32 5PZ St Mary Church Lane Next Udimore TN31 6BD St John the Baptist Vicarage Lane Next Westfield TN35 4SD Wesley Chapel A259 Rectory Lane Next Winchelsea TN36 4EY St Thomas High Street Next Winchelsea TN36 4EB St Leonard Heighton Road Next Denton BN9 ORB St Michael and All Angels The Village Next Berwick BN26 6SR